


The 12 Days of Robron

by prettyapathetic



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-10 15:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8921887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyapathetic/pseuds/prettyapathetic
Summary: In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Aaron starts experiencing events from the carol The 12 Days of Christmas in real life.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing for the Emmerdale or Robron fandoms. Also, though technically I'm half British, I've never lived in England, so if my slang is off, apologies. Special thanks to omarandjohnny who beta'd out all my typos. Any remaining mistakes are my own. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Aaron awoke early one December morning, about two weeks before Christmas, to what only could be described as a ruckus. The noise was only enough to just rouse him at first, causing him to groan in annoyance. He'd worked late at the scrapyard the night before and then had a few (or rather a few too many) pints with Adam afterwards before stumbling home to bed. He'd been planning on having a lie in and the last thing he wanted was to be woken at, he groaned again as the looked at the clock that read 5:00, the crack of dawn. After a few minutes of hearing nothing more he decided that whatever had awoken him had settled or not really happened. He was just drifting off again when a loud crash echoed through the whole pub. Aaron bolted upright, now fully awake and slightly panicked. It was only then that he realized that Robert was not in bed next to him. Quickly, he threw on a hoodie so he wasn't just wearing the boxer shorts he'd slept in and rushed down the stairs.

"Oi! What's going on?" Aaron half shouted when he entered the back room to find some sort of fruit tree unearthed lying in the middle of the room and a frantic Robert flailing around.

"There's a bird loose in here," Robert said quietly as he stalked towards the side of the couch holding a coat. 

"You what?" Aaron replied, his still knackered brain barely managing to take in the scene before him. 

"Shhh! You'll startle it again!" Robert whisper-shouted.

Aaron took the hint and quietly snuck up behind Robert to see exactly what was going on. And there it was, some sort of almost pigeon looking bird pecking at the floor. Robert was closing in, the room completely still except for the bird's movements and the slow, deliberate pace Robert set as he inched closer.

"What the hell is going on down here?" Chas's voice rang out, startling the bird once again as it took flight, swept over Chas's head and knocked some pictures and knickknacks from the bookshelf behind her. 

"Is that a partridge?" Liv appeared from behind Chas looking bemused.

"Damn it! I almost had it." Robert muttered, now watching the bird as it walked around the top of the bookshelf.

"What are you waiting for! Get it out of here already!" Chas yelled to no one in particular.

"Would've done if you hadn't opened your big gob!" Robert hissed back.

"Oi! Ya mouthy git! That's no way to talk to your soon to be mother-in-law!"

"Alright enough!" Aaron shouted, causing them both to quiet down, though it didn't stop them from glaring at each other. "Liv, could you go get me a box from the cellar please?"

"Sure," Liv said chuckling and shaking her head at her family as she made her way out of the room.

When Liv returned with the box a minute later, Aaron ordered everyone to the couch with a point and a stern look. These events were not helping his hangover and aside from the bird, they still had to deal with the mysterious tree lying in the middle of the floor.

Slowly and very carefully Aaron got a towel from the kitchen and then, in one swift movement, he gathered the bird in the towel and got it into the box, folding the top closed.

Exhausted, Aaron looked at the clock, annoyance coloured his face as he realized the whole incident had somehow taken almost two hours. "Could one of you please take that thing up to Paddy or Rhona, they should be opening up soon." Aaron rubbed at his tired eyes and started to head out of the room, intending on heading back up to bed and not emerging until well into the day.

"Oi, one second there, what about the bloody great tree in the middle of the room?" Chas started.

"Liv and I will take care of it," Rob assured, glaring at Liv as she started to protest. "Won't we Liv?"

Aaron gave a nod and started to head back up the stairs, a smile creeping onto his face as he heard his three favourite people start to bicker over the clean up and where the hell the tree and the bird had come from in the first place. It was definitely something he planned on finding out himself, once he finally had some rest.


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two turtle doves.
> 
> Apparently, in years gone by, people really liked giving their loved ones birds for Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here goes chapter 2. The bird schenanegans continue, much to Aaron's annoyance. Once again, many thanks to omarandjohnny for the wonderful beta. I have so missed being in a fandom with you.
> 
> Enjoy!

The next day started off much better for Aaron. No random trees or loose birds woke him, instead he woke naturally, though a little earlier than he would've preferred. He stretched and scratched a hand through his gel free hair before looking at the clock: 6:30. It was a full half hour before his alarm was set to go off, but he felt rested and relaxed, likely due to Rob wearing him out fairly early the night before. 

He rolled then, looking over the sleeping form of his fiancé next to him. He was wrapped in blankets up to his neck, his blonde hair sticking up in a multitude of directions, his mouth slightly slack in sleep. Aaron loved to watch Robert sleep. No matter what was happening between them, or how uncertain he sometimes felt about their relationship, watching the other man sleep peacefully next to him in his, no their bed gave him a sense of peace he'd rarely known.

"You think too loudly. I'm trying to sleep here," Robert mumbled, cracking one eye open and smirking slightly at Aaron. 

"Shut up, ya git," Aaron replied softly, smiling before leaning over and placing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. Robert immediately turned into the kiss and deepened it.

"Oi! Thought you were trying to sleep!"

"Like I was going to let you go so easily."

"You're insatiable!"

"I'm insatiable? You're the one that couldn't keep your hands off me last night."

"Well, maybe I needed a little stress relief after catching that bird. Speaking of, what happened with the tree?"

"Weird thing with that," Robert started. "Turns out it was a pear tree."

Aaron's brow furrowed in confusion and disbelief. "So there was a partridge and a pear tree downstairs two weeks before Christmas.

"That appears to be the case, yes." 

The two men stared at each other contemplating, neither willing to accept that items from a famous Christmas carol ended up in their home randomly right before Christmas.

 

***

"Coffee please Bob," Aaron said a few hours later. He'd been trying to take apart an old Volkswagen at the scrapyard, but his mind kept wandering. He had been hoping to take a break with Robert that morning, but the other man had run off to a meeting about an hour before saying he didn't know how long he'd be.

Aaron paid and took his coffee before sitting down at one of the tables. It had gotten quite cold over the last few days and Aaron wrapped his hands around the warm mug to get some feeling back in his fingers. He'd had no more than a few sips when Adam came rushing in.

"Mate, you better come quick," he said, breathing heavily as if he'd just run full out all the way from the scrapyard. 

Aaron sighed, looking a little annoyed. "Where's the fire? I just sat down."

"Seriously mate, if we don't do something quick, Nicola is going to lose the plot."

"What did you do?"

"Me? I didn't do anything! Just come on!"

Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Fine, let's go, but you owe me a brew."

"Fine. Whatever mate, let's just go."

The two of them jogged back to the scrapyard and the closer the got to the port-o-cabin, the more obvious it became that something strange was happening inside. They could hear loud chirping noises, flapping and the occasional crash.

"What the hell is going on in there?" 

"I don't know mate. Came back from that run out to Leeds and there were birds trapped in there."

"How is this even possible? I was only gone five minutes!" Aaron exclaimed incredulously. "And what's with all the birds?"

Adam gave him a weird look at that last part but decided it might not be the best time to ask. "Look, we've got to figure something out, but when I tried going in there, I swear one of them dive bombed my head."

"One of them? How many are in there?"

"At least two."

At couldn't help but wonder if they were two turtle doves, but that thought just made him laugh to himself. There was just no way.

***

"Seriously Paddy." Aaron found himself once again staring in disbelief as the vet spoke to him.

"I am being serious. They were, uh, are turtle doves. Kinda fitting, don't you think? Like the carol? You had the partridge in a pear tree and now two turtle doves," he said, his usual awkward lilt coming out at the end as he sang the words.

"Yes Paddy, I know." Aaron found himself rolling his eye and wondering what the hell was going on.

He didn't even like birds.


	3. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three French Hens.
> 
> Chickens can be vicious, as Aaron finds out the hard way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for reading and all the kudos and comments. It's all very appreciated. 
> 
> Once again, a special thanks to omarandjohnny for the wonderful beta read. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Aaron was getting really tired of dealing with birds. He and Adam had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to clean up the port-o-cabin and he was not happy about it. 

He rubbed a hand over his face and headed down to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast before heading off to work. Robert was already there, pouring two mugs of tea, setting one down on the table for Aaron.

"Thanks," Aaron said appreciatively. 

"I heard about the doves," Robert said as he put down a plate of toast on the table and took a seat next to Aaron. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Cleaning up. Can't imagine what kind of mess they left."

"And you don't want to, trust me."

Robert chuckled into his tea before speaking again. "So are we going to talk about it?"

Aaron let out a long sigh and placed his mug back down on the table. "What's there to talk about? A couple of birds found their way into the port-o-cabin. It's a big, warm box. I'm sure they just found their way in, trying to get warm."

"Yes, but how did they get in? It's not like you left the door open in this weather. And you have to admit, it's a little weird that just before Christmas you found two turtle doves the day after you found a partridge in a pear tree."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous. Are you really suggesting that someone is going around town setting up verses from the 12 Days of Christmas? It's not even the first day of Christmas yet!"

"And? How many people you know actually know anything about the song except that they sang it as a kid? Most people can't remember the lines past five golden rings. It doesn't mean someone's not doing this on purpose. It is supposed to be their true love giving them gifts, whomever is doing it is just that their plan has gone balls up."

"Twice."

"Twice," Robert agreed, nodding slightly. 

Aaron paused for a moment before looking sideways at Robert. "It wasn't you, was it?" His eyes narrowed, looking at the other man suspiciously.

Robert looked back, unimpressed. "When have you ever known me to have a plan go so badly?"

Aaron merely raised an eyebrow. They both knew he didn't need to say anything to get his point across.

"No, it wasn't me," Robert said, flatly. "And I'll have you know that if I was planning something romantic for my one true love, it wouldn't have anything to do with bird shit and mucking up my place of work."

Now it was Aaron's turn to chuckle as he finished his tea and got up to place his mug in the sink to be washed later. "Fine, it wasn't you," he said with a smirk as he headed out to work.

***

Aaron had just locked up the scrapyard for the day and was heading back to the Woolpack when he heard crashing noises coming from the garage. "Oh god, what now?" He muttered to himself as he changed course to see what was going on.

"Cain? You alright?" He called out to his uncle as he got closer to the garage, which appeared to be closed up for the night. There was no answer, but there was now the all too familiar sound of flapping wings and squawking. He really didn't want to confirm his suspicions and check to see what was going on inside, but some of what Robert had said that morning had stuck with him. Maybe some weirdo was trying to set up the twelve days of Christmas.

As carefully and quietly as he could, Aaron unlocked the door, thankful he still had keys in case of emergency, and he made his way inside.

A few minutes later, over at the Woolpack, Cain was about halfway through his first pint. He'd been busy trying to keep his annoyed face securely in place as he watched Moira get increasingly drunk, again. He didn't like it, but at least here he could keep an eye on her without her screaming at him. 

The annoyance on his face became real as his mobile suddenly started to ring. He declined the call quickly without looking at the call ID, but it was ringing again before he had the chance to put it back into his pocket. This time he did look and saw Aaron's name come up on the screen. He frowned slightly before finally picking up. "What do you want?"

"You better get back to the garage," Aaron said, sounding well and truly annoyed.

"What are you doing there?"

"Just get here, now." The phone call was immediately ended before Cain had a chance to say anything further.

Cain rolled his eyes and huffed. "Chas," he said, calling his sister over. "Keep an eye on her, will ya?"

"Always do," she replied as she watched him get up and leave.

Aaron didn't think he'd ever seen Cain laugh so hard in his life. Aaron, of course, found it less amusing to be basically attacked by three large chickens that looked like they had beards. The second he'd made it into the garage, he'd been surrounded by the rather large birds, their wings flapping all around his head as he stumbled around, flapping his own arms trying to get them away. It was then that he'd tripped over some oil cans that had fallen to the ground, likely the crashing noise that had gotten his attention in the first place. Unfortunately, one of the cans had opened and spilled, causing Aaron to get covered in the stuff. It wasn't long before stray feathers that had come lose from the chickens freaking out were stuck to Aaron too. By the time he'd made the call, the birds had randomly calmed down and Aaron looked like he'd been tarred and feathered.

"What the hell happened in here?" Cain said when he'd finally stopped laughing.

"Do one," Aaron replied before walking right past his uncle and towards the Woolie. If he never saw another bird again, it would be too soon.


	4. Day 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For once, Aaron isn't fully tormented by birds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is, another chapter and just in time for actual Christmas. Hope you enjoy and a Merry Christmas to you all. Enjoy!
> 
> As always, many thanks to the wonderful omarandjohnny for yet another beta read. All remaining mistakes are my own.

The next morning was thankfully a Saturday, exactly a week before Christmas Eve, but Aaron was not in the Christmas spirit. He'd managed to get home the night before without tracking too much of the oil and feathers through the back room. He'd come in the back way to avoid the stares of likely half the village out for a drink, but hadn't managed to avoid the chuckles of his so called family. 

Groggily, Aaron ran a hand over his face and groaned as his fingers found a bit of oil by his left ear he'd managed to miss the night before. He'd taken a long, hot bath, doing his best to rid himself of his being tarred and feathered, but in his exhaustion, he'd apparently missed a spot.

"Have you seen the state of the tub?" Robert entered the room sounding incredulous. "It's like the tar monster from Scooby Doo had a clean up in there."

"You what?" Aaron asked, his still sleep fogged brain not quite catching the reference.

A smirk started to spread across Robert's mouth as he quickly realized who the tar monster had been. 

"Don't," Aaron said, noting the look on his fiancé's face as his brain started to come back online. "My mum's already taken the mick enough."

Robert schooled his face before sitting down on the side of the bed and leaning down to place a kiss on Aaron's forehead. "Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "Why don't you go try and get that muck out of the tub before Chas sees it and freaks and I'll make us a brew. Then maybe I'll help you, um, clean behind your ears." Robert smiled and winked before leaning in for a proper kiss. "Then you can tell me the whole story."

Twenty minutes later, Robert entered the bathroom and placed two steaming hot mugs of tea down on the counter. Aaron was sitting on the side of the tub in his robe testing the temperature of the water. He didn't look up until he heard the sound of the bathroom door locking.

Robert shrugged. "Wouldn't want anyone barging in now, would we?"

Aaron just shrugged as he turned off the water and stood. Robert reached for the lapels of his robe and slipped it off. He was clearly interested in what lay underneath the robe, but he made no move to start anything. Aaron appreciated it. He knew Robert was pretty much always up for a shag, but Rob could also read him like a book and with how the last few days had gone for Aaron, this was just not the time.

Instead, Robert guided him into the bath before turning to open the window a bit. It was chilly outside, but the steam from the hot water would soon make it unbearable in the room. 

"You don't have to do this, you know," Aaron said as he settled into the steaming hot water, already feeling his muscles start to relax.

"I know, but when have you ever known me to pass up the chance to see you naked?" Robert smirked as he grabbed a washcloth. "Besides, someone clearly needs to help you get this stuff off the harder to reach spots." 

Robert soaked the cloth before ringing it out and getting to work on the missed spots. Robert had to admit to himself that there really wasn't much to get, but he wasn't about to admit that to Aaron. Really, at this point, it was either continue cleaning what was already clean, or get in with him and see where it takes them. Usually he'd be more tempted by option two, but Aaron was clearly bothered by the strange occurrences of the past few days, and he hadn't even heard about the latest round yet.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Aaron sighed and laid back in the tub. Robert took the opportunity to start cleaning Aaron's chest, knowing the touch was often soothing to the other man.

"I heard weird noises coming from the garage," he started. "Went to check it out and I was attacked by three of the largest chickens I've ever seen. Nasty things. Fell in some oil they'd knocked over while trying to get away. Cain had a right laugh, until he saw the state of the garage that is."

"I think you're Christmas jinxed," Robert said, ringing out the cloth before hanging it up. A smile crossed his face, the story did have a comedic element, but three days in a row of this craziness was getting to be just a little more than weird. 

Robert was just about to grab their mugs when loud chirping suddenly sounded at the window. Four small-ish black birds suddenly perched on the window sill. Rob grabbed the mugs, suddenly envisioning the birds flying in and smashing the mugs all over the bathroom floor. It would be in keeping with the other bird issues surrounding Aaron that week.

Aaron turned to watch the birds as well, but didn't move otherwise. Both of them stayed stock still, watching the birds sing and hop around on the sill. After a few minutes, the birds took off, flying off into the distance.

"Well, that was a better result," Robert said, still staring out the window.

Aaron blinked a few times in disbelief and nodded. "Just how many times do birds show up in that song?"

"Not sure, but I'm thinking we should look it up." And with that, Robert shut the window.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the fifth day. How five golden rings possibly hurt?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took some figuring out for me. Hope you guys enjoy.
> 
> Once again beta'd by the wonderful omarandjohnny. I couldn't do this without you.

Aaron stretched out, yawning as he slowly came back to the land of the living. It was then that he became aware that his face was pressed against his fiancé's chest instead of a pillow. 

He rolled off Robert and onto his back. He couldn't remember ever sleeping on anyone like that. The occasional cuddle, sure, but not full on sleeping. He smiled at the ceiling as he thought about it. It wasn't all that long ago that having Robert like this was nothing but a distant dream.

He felt Robert shift next to him, rolling over to press along his side. "It's cold," he slurred, still mostly asleep. Aaron pulled him close, effectively flipping their position so that Robert was now using his chest as a pillow. He pulled the blanket up over them a bit more and kissed the top of his blonde head. 

It was a peaceful morning and for the first time in almost a week he wasn't worried about what new Christmas weirdness he might experience.

***

"What's all this then?" Aaron said, as he walked up to Liv who was painting something on one of the tables out in front of the Woolpack. 

"Oh, just some stupid project our class is doing for Christmas. Would you believe we're doing the 12 Days of Christmas? I already tried to get out of it, told the teacher about the partridge in the pear tree, but it didn't work."

At this point, Aaron was beyond being surprised by the weirdness of the last few days. Of course his little sister's Christmas project from school was on the 12 Days of Christmas. "Let me guess, you got day five?"

"How'd you guess? Was it the gold spray paint?" She teased.

"That and it's day five."

"Whatcha mean? Have you have more than the pear tree?" She asked, looking truly surprised.

"Oh yeah," Aaron replied, nodding. "The French hens, the turtle doves, the lot!"

"That makes sense then," she said, looking like she'd just found the answers to the universe. "I heard Paddy saying something to Marlon about a bearded chicken attack. Thought he'd lost the plot for sure."

Aaron just laughed and moved to sit down. Just as he made contact with the seat, he heard Liv yell out, "no! Don't sit there!"

"What?!" Aaron jumped up like he'd been shot. 

"I was painting there!"

Aaron let out an annoyed sigh and turned to try and take a look at his own backside, trying to assess if his new jeans were salvageable. 

"Let's see how bad it is," Liv said, moving around to check out the state of him. 

Aaron notes a badly stifled choke of laughter before turning to see his sister literally biting her lip to keep from laughing. Shaking his head, he walked back into the pub, meaning to head upstairs to see if he could get the marks off. All he could hear as he walked away was Liv laughing out an apology.

The trip through the pub itself was no picnic either. It was lunch time and the busiest time on a Sunday. He could feel the looks on him, though it really made him wonder if it was that bad or if more of the villagers checked out his bum on a regular basis than he ever would've guessed. He took the stairs two by two and rushed into the bedroom. Robert was there, sitting on the edge of the bed looking at something on his phone. 

"How bad is it?" Aaron said, immediately turning around. 

Robert didn't even bother to try and hide his laughter. "C'mere," he said, standing and guiding Aaron to the full length mirror in the corner of the room.

Aaron turned to check out the state of his pants and immediately burst into laughter himself, both of them now near tears at the ridiculousness before them. 

There, perfectly on each cheek, was a golden, sparkly ring, making it almost look like a face staring back at them. 

"Reckon you're lucky you didn't end up with five rings back there," Robert chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "How did you even manage that?"

"Luck? Liv's outside painting golden rings for her Christmas project. I sat down in the wrong spot, end of."

"Well, if you ask me, you sat down in the perfect spot. Now I get to get you out of these," Robert said, smirking as he pulled at the waist of Aaron's jeans.


	6. Day 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When geese attack! Poor Aaron, birds of all kinds really don't like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Everyone! Have another chapter and enjoy.
> 
> As always, beta credit goes to the wonderful omarandjohnny. Couldn't do it without you!

Aaron smacked his alarm clock as it started blaring at the ungodly hour of 4 in the morning. There was nothing on at the scrapyard that morning, so he'd promised Adam he'd help out on the farm for a few hours. It was a promise he now regretted. It was warm and cozy in bed and he would've much rather stayed snuggled up with Robert, but Aaron wasn't one to break a promise to his best friend.

He felt Robert shift next to him then and mutter something in his sleep. Aaron smiled at the sleeping lump next to him and placed a soft kiss to his forehead before dragging himself out of bed and into the shower. He couldn't help but wonder what the day would hold. He and Robert had looked up the lyrics for the 12 Days of Christmas so he at least knew that today he should be wary of geese, but he wasn't sure he could actually avoid some of these things.

***

A half an hour later, Adam picked him up outside the Woolpack. Adam looked far more awake than Aaron could've ever hoped to be at that hour. Usually Adam's jovial personality was one of the things Aaron loved about his best mate, but not pre-dawn without coffee.

"C'mon mate! It's not that early!" Adam laughed, patting Aaron on the shoulder hard enough to rock him forward as they pulled up in front of Butlers. Aaron just glared in return. This just made Adam laugh harder. "You were totally not built to work on a farm, mate."

Adam roughly put an arm around Aaron's shoulder, almost play fighting as they headed into the house. "I'm sure mum's got the coffee on, I'll get you a cuppa, fix you right up."

Moira was sitting at the kitchen table with her own coffee looking just a little worse for wear. "Hey boys, coffee's on," she said with a sad smile. 

"Thanks mum," Adam said softly, kissing his Mum on the cheek as he made his way over to the coffee.

Aaron took a seat at the table across from Moira. It was well known around the village that she hadn't been coping well with Holly's death, especially at Christmas. Aaron could relate, though he couldn't imagine if it were his own child or even Liv. Too much heartbreak had happened in the village over the last few months. 

Despite having too much experience in loss, he didn't know what to say to Moira. All he knew was when he was dealing with Jackson's death, the last thing he wanted was people asking how he was doing. Of course he was doing badly, why ask such stupid questions? Instead he just sat quietly, offering Moira a small smile when she looked at him. He couldn't be sure, but he could swear she was grateful for his lack of questions.

After coffee, they were given their marching orders and Aaron was less than surprised to find out he was mucking out a stall with geese in it. Six geese to be exact. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered to himself as he walked into the pen.

He got to work, hoping that this was more a blackbird day as opposed to a French hen day.

***

A short while later, Adam happened to be passing by when he heard loud squawking and flapping noises combined with Aaron shouting. He immediately dropped everything he was carrying and rushed over to see Aaron jumping out of the geese pen just as one very angry goose nipped at his heels. The bird just managed to grab the cuff of his jeans, causing Aaron to stumble and fall to the ground, his jeans tearing in the process, a piece of the material still clutched in the goose's beak.

"Holy shit! Mate! You alright?" Adam exclaimed, immediately rushing to his friend's side.

Aaron winced, grabbing at his shoulder. "I think so, landed on my shoulder though."

The geese continued to honk, obviously agitated. "What happened in there?" Adam asked, helping Aaron to sit up before looking into the pen. "Jesus! They're laying eggs in there! That's four months early!"

"I swear, I was just cleaning out the stall, as per, when they started going nuts. I wasn't even near them!"

"Well mate, I think it's official, birds like you as much as you like them," Adam said with a laugh. "C'mon, let's get that shoulder looked at."

***

Though his shoulder was already feeling better by the time they made it back to the house, Moira insisted that Adam take Aaron to A&E to get him checked out, just in case. Normally Aaron would protest, but if something were wrong, he was certain that Moira would feel guilty about it and he didn't want to make her feel worse.

On the way to the hospital, Aaron rang Robert to tell him what happened. When they arrived, his fiancé was already waiting outside for them.

"I told you I was fine and you didn't need to come," Aaron said as soon as he was out of the car. 

"My fiancé is being taken to A&E and you think I wouldn't come?"

Aaron rolled his eyes, but smiled. The circumstances may suck, but he would always be happy to see Robert.

The three of them headed in and Aaron couldn't help but notice the odd look Robert gave Aaron as he headed up to the nurse at the intake desk to check in.

As he headed back to them, he noticed they were having a rather intense conversation in whispers, the only words he managed to catch were "no more birds." Both men turned then and gave him what he could only describe as the worst 'innocent' smiles he'd ever seen.

Yup, something was definitely up and Aaron planned to find out what it was.


	7. Day 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe, just maybe, this could all be a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter. Hope you all keep enjoying. I'm particularly fond of this chapter.
> 
> Once again, my wonderful beta is omarandjohnny. All remaining mistakes are my own.

Aaron laid staring at the ceiling in the early hours of the morning. He couldn't sleep, his mind slowly turning over the words he'd heard at the hospital the day before. He rubbed at his shoulder, which was thankfully only bruised and didn't really bother him much. The way Robert had treated him after they got home though, you would've thought he'd lost his arm. 

Aaron turned his head and looked at the sleeping man next to him, his brow furrowed in thought as Robert slept away peacefully. What was he up to?

To try and clear his head, Aaron decided to go for a run. He'd been meaning to start up again. He knew it was something that might worry his mum and Rob, but he wasn't in the same head space he had been back then. He was in a good place now; he was happy. Now he just missed the rush of adrenaline and he could stand to stay in shape what with all the celebrating that was just starting to pick up. If he didn't start now, who knew how much weight he'd gain on sheer pints alone.

Quietly, being sure not to wake Robert, he dressed in jogging pants and one of his warmer hoodies before grabbing his trainers and sneaking downstairs and out the back door. He jumped around for a moment, trying to warm up a bit before taking off down the road at a steady pace. The sun was just starting to rise above the horizon, causing beautiful streaks of gold and orange to light up the still mostly dark sky.

Aaron cleared his mind of thoughts as made his way through the village, no real plan on where he was going. It took awhile for him to realize that he had made his was down by the stream near Butlers. He hadn't been this way in ages and honestly hadn't thought much about it until he'd mentioned it to Laurel. He thought then that maybe he'd come here subconsciously to try and figure out what was going on and what Robert and Adam might have to do with it.

Aaron made his way over to a large rock he'd sat on more times than he could count. It had the perfect viewpoint, in Aaron's opinion. No matter the time of year, whether the trees were in full bloom and the stream trickling along, the a day like this one where the trees were bare and the water in the stream seemed cold and harsh, Aaron always thought this was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen and it never failed to relax him.

"Y'alright?" A familiar voice startled him from his thoughts. He turned to find Laurel heading towards him.

He nodded and smiled. "How's Ashley?"

"Good, he's good," she said with a sad smile. "Well, as good as he can be, I suppose."

Aaron nodded again and looked back out at the stream. "I'm glad you found this place. I've always found it very calming."

"It is. I started coming here almost everyday, no screaming needed yet though," she said with a chuckle. "The best part has been this family of swans have been around the past few days. Simply majestic birds, they are. Have you ever seen them here before?"

Aaron turned slowly to look at her, his brow furrowing slightly. "How many swans would you say there were?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but this was getting all too weird.

"Oh, I don't know, six or seven of them maybe? You should stick around, they usual come by about now." This time, the smile reached her eyes.

"I don't know," Aaron began as he started to stand up. Swans were beautiful, but he'd also heard they could be quite vicious and he was not in the mood for another bird encounter.

"Look! There they are!" Laurel whispered, pointing out the group of seven swans swimming towards them.

Aaron turned to look, but otherwise stayed completely still, worried that any movement he made might send them chasing after him. After a moment it became apparent that they were paying the two of them no attention and he sat back down feeling more than a little relieved. They were, in fact, quite beautiful and he suddenly had the strong urge to share this with Robert one day.

"He'd love this," he whispered to himself.

Laurel patted his knee then. "Ashley would've loved it too. You should bring him, show him. Don't waste a moment."

Aaron smiled at her then and pulled her into a hug, surprising the both of them. "You need anything, you just let me know," he said before standing up again. "I'd better head back." He started to leave but had only taken a few steps before he turned back. "Thanks."

"No Aaron, thank you."

With one last nod, he took off back towards home, his pace a little faster this time. He couldn't wait to tell Robert about the swans.

***

Aaron made it back to the pub in record time, feeling lighter than he had in a week. Puffing slightly as he caught his breath, he entered the back room of the pub immediately seeing Rob sitting at the table with a mug of tea in front of him. 

"Hey," was all he managed to get out before Robert was up and out of his seat, rushing across the room towards him.

"Are you okay?" Robert asked, sounding more worried than Aaron had seen him in awhile and looking worse.

"Of course I'm okay. Why? What's happened?" The look on his fiancé's face was starting to worry Aaron.

Robert just pulled him into a tight hug, like he had been sat there worried that he'd never see him again. "I've done something stupid." Robert whispered.

Aaron rubbed Robert's back, trying to soothe him. "All this twelve days of Christmas has been you, hasn't it? Well, you and Adam."  
Robert nodded against his shoulder. "And Liv, and Chas, a few others," he admitted softly. "I tried to stop it after the first couple went ass over tits, but too much was already set in motion. And then you were out this morning and the swans. It's swan day and I just found out how vicious they can be."

"Shh, it's okay, the swans were _amazing_." Aaron continued to try and soothe him.

"They were? You mean, you saw them? And they didn't attack you?" Robert pulled back slightly to gauge Aaron's real reaction. All he saw was the bright smile and nod from the person he loved more than anything.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing what else you've come up with."

And with that, Robert's smile matched Aaron's.


	8. Day 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things only get more ridiculous as the days go by. Just exactly how will Robert pull this one off? I guess with a little help from his (and Aaron's) friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my initial plan for this story was to have it all done and posted by the time Christmas was over. I even messed up when the actual days of Christmas are in the story in the hopes of getting it up before New Years, but as you can tell, this did not happen. As a bonus, I'm going to try and post a couple of chapters today.
> 
> Once again, many thanks to the wonderful omarandjohnny for the beta. All other mistakes are my own.

Aaron woke slowly. He stretched out, feeling relaxed, languid, better than he'd felt in quite a while. He smiled as he remembered the night before. He couldn't believe everything Robert had done to try and show him how much he loved Aaron. As if he needed proof. He was just sorry that some of those attempts had gone so badly and apparently stressed them both out.

He only hoped that the problems, and that he knew now, didn't mean that Robert wasn't going to keep going.

It was then that he noticed that Rob was not asleep next him and he turned to check the time, surprised to see it was gone 10. He jumped out of bed and got in the shower, the relaxed feeling he'd woken with gone in a flash. He cursed as he got under the still cold spray of water, not wanting to waste time waiting for the water to heat up. God, he _hated_ being late! Five minutes later, he threw on some jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie before taking the stairs down in twos. 

He was rushing past the living room when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Oi! Where you off to in such a rush?"

Aaron skidded to a stop and peeked his head in to see his best friend and supposed business partner sat beside his fiancé enjoying a brew. "What the hell are you doing here? It's bad enough I'm late, but now the yard isn't even open?"

Adam chuckled. "C'mon mate! It's Christmas week and you know it's always slow around now. There's nothing on until this afternoon and you know it."

Aaron gave Adam his best annoyed look, but didn't press the issue. He wasn't wrong, after all. 

Robert stood as Aaron approached and gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading to the kitchen. "I'll make you a brew," he said with a soft smile as Aaron sat.

Aaron couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face as he watched Robert at work. "Oi! Other people in the room mate!" Adam laughed, nudging him in the ribs with his elbow.

"Get off!" Aaron yelped, he really hated being ticklish. 

"Hey now, only I have tickling privileges here," Robert joked as he placed a mug down in front of Aaron and sat back down.

Adam just laughed and shook his head while Aaron took a moment to appreciate that his best friend and his fiancé actually got along. In fact, he wondered for a brief moment if he should be worried that they had apparently been hanging out together before he'd come downstairs. It's not that it wasn't more than welcome, but the two weren't exactly close, despite his relationship with Robert and Adam being married to Vic and all.

"So, are you excited about today then?" Adam asked, as if on cue.

Aaron's brow furrowed. "Excited? What for?"

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're not curious to know what day 8 consists of?"

Aaron looked sideways at Robert only to see him trying to hide a smile behind his mug. He kept his eyes on Robert, trying to look stern, but couldn't keep the smile from creeping across his face. "Alright, you got me, I'm curious."

In that moment, as Aaron grinned at Robert and Robert grinned back, it was like there was no one else In the world and Aaron simply could not wait to see what was in store for the day.

"Come on lads, do I need to tell you to get a room?"

Both Aaron and Robert turned to Adam and just laughed.

***

An hour later Aaron found himself blindfolded and being led somewhere by both Adam and Robert that smelled distinctly like a barn.

"You ready?" Robert whispered directly into his ear. The act felt quite intimate, despite the fact that Aaron knew they weren't alone and he made a mental note to consider keeping a blindfold in the bedroom.

He nodded in response and immediately the blindfold was removed. He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the scene before him. There before him stood Vic, his mum, Charity (who looked none too pleased), Liv, Rhona, Vanessa, Lisa and Belle. All eight of them dressed in French maids outfits.

"Are you trying to scar me for life?" Aaron asked, turning to Robert in amused disbelief.

"Oi there! I look hot in this!" Charity yelled at him. 

"Please don't," Aaron replied, scrunching up his face in disgust.

"Can we get this over with now please. I would actually rather go to school than do this any longer," Liv huffed.

"Come on love," Lisa said cheerily.

"Yeah, this is much more fun than school," Belle joked.

Rhona and Vanessa just stood back, laughing together at the whole crazy situation.

"Okay, okay, can we just do this?" Aaron asked, trying to sound annoyed, but clearly amused.

"Alright ladies, let's do this!" Rhona called out, grabbing a bucket and heading back into the barn that had a few cows in it. 

Everyone followed in a strange sort of march and then Aaron watched as each woman sat and milked one of the cows by hand until the bucket was almost full.

"Thanks for the hand ladies! And Robert," Moira's voice said from behind them.

"There you are mum!" Adam said jovially, giving her a hug. 

Aaron turned to her, still laughing from the sight he wouldn't ever be able to unsee. "I'm surprised they didn't get you in one of them things."

"Who me? You wouldn't catch me dead in one of them!"

Everyone was laughing and talking about the sheer ridiculousness of what Robert had set up. Aaron moved to stand beside him with a grin spread across his face. "Thank you," he whispered before leaning in to kiss him softly. "You're mental, and I love you."

Robert just smiled and wrapped his arms around him. "Just you wait until tomorrow."


	9. Day 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shenanigans continue! Robert's really on a roll now that wildlife isn't involved and the whole town is getting behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, another chapter and it's been all of five minutes. Forgotten I'd already been through the editing on this one. So close to the end. Hope you all are still enjoying.
> 
> Kudos to omarandjohnny as always!

"Just how many people in the village are in on this Christmas plan of yours?" Aaron had asked the night before as they had laid in bed laughing about the events of earlier that day.

"Honestly? A whole lot more than I had expected. It's not like I have the best reputation." He'd shrugged and snuggled closer to Aaron then, pulling him into a full body embrace.

Aaron turned in the embrace so that he could press his face into the contour of Robert's neck, kissing him there lightly and smiling at the small shiver he felt in return. "I think maybe more people are getting to know the real Robert Sugden, the Robert I fell in love with, and that's why they're helping."

"Maybe," he whispered, sounding unsure that that was a possibility. "Or maybe it's because of how much everyone here loves you."

Aaron pulled back slightly so he could look Robert in the eyes, their faces so close that their noses brushed against each other. "I wasn't always liked around here. The years before you came back, I was most definitely the black sheep. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the people here are very forgiving."

Robert just nodded in response, though Aaron could tell he didn't quite believe him. He wasn't worried though. So many of the villagers had come around and Aaron had no doubt that Robert's reputation could be redeemed, just as his had been.

"So, do I get any hints as to what my surprise for tomorrow is?" Aaron started, deciding to change the subject a bit.

"I thought you looked up the lyrics to the song a few days back so you could be on the lookout?" 

"I did, but for the life of me, I keep forgetting the order. Now that I know you're behind it, I'm kind of glad I don't remember. Kind of looking forward to the surprise."

"And you expect me to give you a hint?" Robert laughed and quickly rolled so that he was suddenly straddling the younger man. "How about I take your mind off it instead and wear us both out." He cocked and eyebrow and smirked down at Aaron, who couldn't keep the grin from spreading across his face.

"I guess I could live with that."

***

All the next morning, Aaron was on the lookout for a sign about what the surprise would be. He still refused to look up the lyrics again, but that didn't stop his brain from trying to go over what the lyrics were.

"Is it nine drummers drumming? That sounds right, I think?" He muttered to himself as he took apart an old Vauxhall that had come in earlier that morning.

"You know what they say about people that talk to themselves, don'tcha mate?" Adam said with a grin and a laugh as he clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "Ya haven't gone mad, have ya?"

"I don't think so, but I can't seem to stop trying to figure out what today's thing is going to be."

"Oh ho! This is really getting ya innit?" Adam laughed. "Is it at least better that you know who's doing it?"

"So much better," Aaron said in all seriousness. "I actually thought I was going mad for a bit there. I don't think I've ever had any real contact with a bird before last week."

"Well maybe not ever, just not in a long time and you never did quite know what to do with them," Adam teased, clapping him on the shoulder again. Aaron gave him an unamused look in return. Adam just laughed again, knowing Aaron wasn't actually upset. "Come on mate, you're just about done with this and there's nothing on for tomorrow. Leave it 'till then and I'll buy you a pint at the pub. You'll get your prezzie before you know it.

Aaron pondered the suggestion for a moment before giving in. He could really do with a pint.

A few minutes later, after a quick clean-up, Adam and Aaron found themselves at the bar sipping at a pint. "Any idea why Marlon's watching the bar?" Aaron whispered to Adam who nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. It was then that Aaron knew that Adam knew exactly why Marlon was behind the bar and that this was part of day 9.

Just then, the pub door opened and Aaron turned to see his mum, followed by Charity, Belle, Rhona, Vanessa, Tracy, Leyla, Vic and Kerry all dressed up like Can Can dancers, shouting, cheering and kicking their legs for all they were worth, but in no way organized. Aaron watched in shock for a few seconds before doubling over in laughter. Adam was just as stitched up next to him, both going red in the face as they gasped for air. Pretty soon, everyone in the pub was up and dancing, even Aaron, as he was dragged by a bunch of the women into the centre of the room, unable to defend himself while laughing so hard. Deciding to let go and give in, he went with it. After all, at least he wasn't in a silly get up. After a few minutes, the dancing still continuing around him, Aaron felt familiar arms wrap around him from behind. 

"You like?" Robert whispered into his ear.

"I _love_ ," Aaron replied, turning in the embrace and doing something completely out of the ordinary for him by kissing Robert full on the mouth in front of everyone in the crowded pub.


	10. Day 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Robert tries to distract Aaron with shopping and a few of the village men wear interesting costumes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same as always, I hope you enjoy this next installment. We're coming close to the end now! Once again, kudos to omarandjohnny for the wonderful beta. All remaining mistakes are my own.
> 
> P.S. I'll be posting the remaining chapters tonight. It's a bonanza of late Christmas additions!

Aaron woke that morning feeling excited. He tried to cover it, of course, feeling a little ridiculous. It was like he was a little kid excited about Father Christmas. It was hard though, trying not to look as giddy as he felt, thinking about what Rob might have waiting for him today. He had enjoyed the impromptu party that had broken out in the pub the day before, though he was loathe to admit that he'd actually enjoyed the dancing. Hopefully Robert wouldn't call him on it or there might be more dancing than he could handle at their wedding.

"You getting up sometime today?" Robert said as he entered their room, smiling down at his adorably sleep-frumpy fiancé. 

"It's not that late," Aaron replied, trying to look annoyed, but failing completely. 

"It's gone nine!" Robert teased.

"And it's my holiday!"

They both stared at each other for a minute before chuckling.

"Come on, get up. There's a full English waiting for you downstairs and we've got some last minute shopping to do."

Aaron sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed as he rubbed a hand over his face a few times. "Why do I feel like you're trying to get me out of here?"

Robert gave him his best smug look and shrugged. "Just hurry up," he said before turning and leaving the room again, closing the door behind him.

***

When they pulled up outside the pub later that day, after more time spent shopping than Aaron ever had, he was no longer in the jovial mood he had been when waking that morning. If there was one thing that Aaron really hated, it was Shopping. Any kind of shopping really, but especially shopping that involved malls just before Christmas. He'd completed all his shopping a month earlier and all of it was done online. Robert, on the other hand, had really seemed in his element the whole day.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Robert said, poking Aaron in the ribs, trying to get a smile out of his grumpy fiancé.

Aaron batted his hand away. "I never need to see that many people in one place at one time ever again," Aaron groused as he grabbed a ridiculous number of bags from the boot and headed towards the door to the pub. It was nearing tea time and he was tired and hungry. And somehow hot and cold at the same time.

Robert chuckled and shook his head before grabbing the rest of the bags and following him inside.

After dropping the bags off in their room, Robert convinced Aaron to join him in the pub for a pint and whatever Marlon's special of the day was. They both knew that Aaron's mood would improve greatly after some hot food and lager.

They were about halfway through their meals when Aaron noticed that Robert was not so successfully trying to hide a smile. Just then he heard the door to the pub open. He looked up to see probably the strangest thing he'd seen, and he was including the Can Can incident of the day before. In leaped Jimmy, Rishi, Dan, Adam, Pete, Finn, Sam, Marlon, Paddy and Bob, all dressed like they were in a Shakespearean play complete with knee-high boots, tights and feathers in their caps. Aaron almost choked on his lager, managing to actually spray some beer out his nose as he laughed. All ten men came leaping through the pub shouting "Happy Christmas!!" at the top of their lungs. 

"I cannot believe you managed this," Aaron gasped, still not fully control of his mirth. 

Robert, who was also laughing and grinning like a fool, leaned in closer to whisper, "my only regret is I couldn't convince Cain to join in."

The men continued to leap around, causing yet another interesting night at the Woolpack. Aaron started to wonder if Robert shouldn't get into party planning as he looked over at the most amazing person he'd ever met. He watched for a minute as Robert laughed at the schenanegans he'd created and Aaron had never been more in love with him.

"Hey," he said, getting Robert's attention before grabbing him by the front of the shirt and pulling him across the table to kiss him full on. It wasn't often that they kissed in public, but Aaron wasn't bothered. In that moment, he wanted the whole world to know that he was madly in love with Robert Sugden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you all know, this is the outfit I was thinking of: http://img.costumecraze.com/images/vendors/forum/59781s-large.jpg


	11. Day 11 with a Twist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a little bit of a twist on the end of this one, if you couldn't tell from the chapter title. Much more of a description would just be a spoiler. :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're really winding down now. Hope this holds up. As always, beta credit goes to the wonderful omarandjohnny. You're the best! All remaining mistakes are my own.

Christmas Eve had always been Aaron's favourite day during the season. All the preparation had been done, everyone was all relaxed and there was still all the anticipation of Christmas. It was also a chance for him to mentally prepare himself for Christmas tea with the whole Dingle clan. That was the only thing causing him stress at all this year. In more recent years, he'd been having a rough time for more reasons than he cared to remember, but this year, this year was different. This year he was _happy_ and his only real concern was seeing how Robert really got on with his family.

He had to admit, everything that Robert had accomplished over the last week and a half and how he'd had pretty much the entire village help out made him feel a lot more at ease than he had been. He wasn't completely stress free over the situation though. The Dingles' were stubborn and he wouldn't put it past at least one of them if they made some snide remark about the Robert of old. It was a thought that no longer really seemed possible, but Aaron still couldn't quite shake it. He just had to hope that he was wrong.

That was a problem for the next day though. For now, he was just happy to spend the day relaxing, having a few pints and just goofing off.

He stretched and rolled over in bed, happy to find that for the first time in a few days, Robert was still in bed next to him. He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to the sleeping man's mouth.

"Where do you think you're going?" Robert said as Aaron started to pull back, clearly not as asleep as he had appeared a moment before, and pulled him back down into another kiss.

Aaron smiled into the kiss and pressed himself against the sleep-warmed body of his fiancé. He couldn't imagine ever getting tired of the feeling of Robert Sugden pressed against him.

"That's more like it," Robert whispered against his mouth with a small smirk on his lips. "No need to get up just yet."

It was Aaron's turn to smirk. "I think you should get up, just not out of bed."

 

***

A couple of hours later, both men finally found their way downstairs. Both famished, they headed immediately towards the kitchen area with only a quick hello to Chas who was sitting at the table.

"I'm guessing I do not want to know what kept you two in bed so late," Chas teased, a little smile playing at her mouth as she sipped on some tea.

"I could give you some tips on the best way to start off Christmas Eve, or really any day, if you need," Robert teased right back.

"Oi! That's my mum!" Aaron said, poking Robert in the ribs as a blush crept up his cheeks.

"Come on, she's an adult. I'm sure she knows what we get up to." Robert turned his teasing ways on his fiancé, loving the now scarlet tinge to his cheeks.

"This is the reason we need a place of our own," Aaron pouted.

"Oh come on, love! One of us needs to be getting some around here!"

Aaron glared at his mother while Robert and Chas just laughed.

"Okay, okay enough," Aaron said, starting to laugh a bit himself. He wasn't really comfortable talking about his sex life with his mum, but then again, who was? "Let's get something at the pub, I'm starving."

Robert nodded, still chuckling as he followed Aaron out. Chas smiled as she watched them go. Who would've thought so much could change in a year?

***

They spent the next few hours eating and having a few pints as various villagers came in and out. They had a few conversations here and there, laughed as Rishi and Bob both expressed their joy at being involved in their Christmas fun, and all in all just having a good time together.

It was right around their third pints when Vic and Adam came in. Vic was dressed for her afternoon shift to help cover the dinner rush, but they both sat down with Aaron and Robert.

"Uh, did you see what was going on out there?" Vic said, looking surprised.

"No," Aaron said, looking interested. Robert stayed quiet.

"There's a proper parade set up out there, just about ready to head right through the village!" Adam said with a laugh and a bit of a wink in Robert's direction.

Aaron noticed and looked over at the man who was currently trying to hide his smile behind his pint of beer. Robert shrugged in response, knowing he was caught out. It was then that the sounds of the 12 Days of Christmas could suddenly be heard wafting through the pub. The four of them at the table and most of the patrons in the bar got up and went outside to see what was happening.

"I cannot believe you did this," Aaron said in awe as he watched a band full of eleven pipe players of varying types, including a couple of bag pipes, and twelve drummers, all organized and began marching down the main street continuing to play the 12 Days of Christmas.

Aaron laughed until tears sprung in his eyes, happier than maybe he'd ever been as he felt the strong arms of his fiancé come around him. "Merry Christmas Aaron."

Aaron wrapped his arms around Robert in return and smiled up at him. "Merry Christmas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this seems like the end, but worry not faithful readers! There is one more chapter.


	12. Boxing Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the finale! Now it's Aaron's turn to try this romantic gift giving thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it! I'm not sure it was a problem for anyone, but apologies that this all took longer than I expected. I had originally hoped to have this all done and posted by the 6th of January, which clearly didn't happen. At any rate, I hope everyone has enjoyed this. Thanks to all my readers for the wonderful comments and kudos. You've been so welcoming in my first trip down the main drag of Emmerdale.
> 
> Once again, so many thanks and kudos to the wonderful omarandjohnny. Especially for this last chapter. I couldn't have done it without you.

If Christmas Eve was Aaron's favourite day during the holidays, then Boxing Day was his second. Of course, after this year, he may have to rethink his standings on the big day itself. He couldn't remember the last year he'd had such a good time. Last year had been so awful that the comparison was almost blinding. He didn't ever want to think of another Christmas without Robert and Liv at his side. Not all that long ago he had to sneak off with Robert, and he hadn't even known where Liv was. Now he had them all together and joining him at a big Dingle get together. He'd always pretended to hate family gatherings, too angry to appreciate what he had, but now he cherished it. 

Maybe he just wouldn't tell his mum that. She might hug him to death.

And Robert! He was still in awe of everything he'd done for him over the past few weeks. Aaron would bet money that the entire village was stunned by how much he'd changed. To Aaron though, they were just finally seeing the man he'd fallen in love with years ago. Sure, pretty much everyone had seen the dark side of Robert, but until pretty recently, it seemed like only he had seen the good. He felt so proud to see him finally shine, to see him happy, and after the past few weeks, Aaron thought it was his turn to show Robert just how much he appreciated him.

***

"Alright, time to get up," Aaron called cheerily. It was about half ten and Robert was still snoozing away. Aaron was already up, showered and dressed.

"Come on Aaron, can't we just have a lie in? I actually had a good time yesterday, but your family is exhausting," Robert whined.

"Oi, they're your family too, you know," Aaron replied with a laugh. "Look, breakfast at the Cafe, my treat?"

Robert groaned and rolled onto his back before stretching. Aaron couldn't help but enjoy the sight, but when Robert noticed and tried to start something, Aaron stopped him with a gentle hand to his chest. "There's time enough for that later. Now come on, get in the shower. We're going to be late."

"Late? Late for what? It's Boxing Day, all we're supposed to do is eat leftovers and sleep," Robert said with a pout.

Aaron chuckled and leaned over to kiss Robert's pout. "Trust me, you'll like this," he said before pulling back and standing up. If he hadn't, he would've easily succumbed to the temptation that was his fiancé. "I'll meet you downstairs, and dress casually."

***

A half an hour later, Robert emerged in the back room wearing well fitting jeans, a blue jumper and his leather jacket. Aaron was speechless for a moment. He was always taken a little aback by just how stunning Robert was, but especially in that jacket.

"Took you long enough," he said when he finally got his brain to work.

Robert smirked, clearly knowing where Aaron's mind had just been. "Yeah, well, perfection takes time."

Aaron rolled his eyes, but also smiled. "Come on, let's go."

They walked over to the cafe, happy that Bob had decided to open on the holiday. Turned out there were more than a few people in there, a bit hungover from celebrating and not wanting to make their own breakfast. 

They ordered a couple of coffees and bacon sarnies before sitting down. They had just finished their breakfasts when Diane and Doug walked in.

"There is the craziest contraption out there," Diane said, half amused, half curious. "Hello love, Merry Christmas," she directed at Robert. "I'm sorry we didn't get to see much of you yesterday. I hope you had a good day."

Robert smiled in return and stood to give her a hug, but Aaron could see the tension on his fiancé's face. He always tried, they both did, but Diane was still quick to judge Robert sometimes and Aaron knew how much that hurt him, especially now on the holidays.

"It was good, really good. Thanks Diane. Hope yours was good as well."

Just then, Ross and Pete walked in. "There is the craziest... _thing_ out there," Ross said, looking vaguely annoyed.

"That's our cue," Aaron said, standing and trying not to look like the cat that caught the canary.

Everyone in hearing distance turned to give Aaron a curious look, including Robert. "What's going on?" Robert asked, looking at Aaron skeptically.

"Just get us a couple more coffees to go and meet me outside," Aaron said, looking just a little smug before grabbing his jacket and heading outside.

Robert came out a few minutes later and came to a dead stop next to him, his mouth agape at the sight before him. "Well, they weren't wrong, it may well be the craziest thing," Robert said after a moment.

Aaron grinned at him as he took his coffee and gestured to the quite ornately decorated horse and carriage that stood before them. "I started planning it when I found out you were behind all the stuff. It wasn't easy really, what do you get the man who has everything?"

Robert laughed, "so how did you come up with this then?"

"Well first, I went to Paddy, which in hindsight might not have been the best plan. His dates with my mum haven't been the smoothest and he kept yammering on about some twelve nights or something."

"Twelfth Night," Robert said with an affectionate grin.

"Yeah, that was it. I looked it up, some poncy Shakespeare thing."

"You know, we should check out some Shakespeare sometime. There's a few plays I think you'd actually like."

Aaron gave Robert a look like he'd completely lost the plot before continuing. "Anyway, I asked my mum next and she said she'd always wanted to go on a carriage ride through Central Park and I thought I could see you liking something like that and here we are."

Robert's smile widened because Aaron wasn't wrong, he loved the idea. "But where did you get the carriage? It looks like it's straight out of the 19th century."

Aaron hopped up into the carriage and held out a hand to help Robert up in a typical romantic gesture. "For that we have the Southampton Dingles to thank."

"Ahh, the infamous Southampton Dingles," Robert said with a smirk as he climbed into the carriage which looked like it had been fixed up a bit. There was a very comfy looking cushion and a large soft blanket to keep them warm. "When do I meet them?" 

Aaron chuckled at the sound of concern in Robert's voice. "Don't worry, not today. Likely at our wedding."

"What a relief," Robert joked as they got comfortable.

With that, the driver got into place and they rode off into the Dales, bringing to a close the best Christmas of Aaron Dingle's life.

And Robert's too.


End file.
